The twelve competencies of emotional intelligence

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According to Daniel Goleman, internationally known psychologist and author of Emotional Intelligence, Social Intelligence, and Working with Emotional Intelligence; Emotional Self Awareness is the ability to know your own emotions and their effects on your performance and it involves 12 competencies:

• Self-Regulate is the ability to keep your disruptive emotions and impulses in check in order to maintain your effectiveness under stressful or even hostile conditions. 
• Positivity is the ability to see the best in people, situations, and events so you can be persistent in pursuing goals despite setbacks and obstacles. 
• Achieve means that you strive to meet or exceed a standard of excellence by embracing challenges, taking calculated risks and looking for ways to do things better.
• Adaptability means you can stay focused on your goals, but easily adjust how you get there. You remain flexible in the face of change can juggle multiple demands, and are open to new situations, ideas or innovative approaches. 
• Empathy means you have the ability to sense others’ feelings; have a desire to understand how they see things; and take an active interest in their concerns. 
• Organizational Awareness is the ability to read a group’s emotional currents and power relationships, identifying influencers, networks, and the dynamics that matter in decision-making. 
• Influence refers to the ability to have a positive impact on others and meaningfully engage people in order to get buy-in or gain their support. 
• Coach is the ability to further the learning or development of others by understanding their goals, challenging them, giving them timely feedback, and offering them support. 
• Inspire is the ability to bring your best and motivate others around a shared mission or purpose in order to get the job done.
• Teamwork is the ability to work with others toward a shared goal; build spirit and positive relationships; encourage active participation; and share responsibility and rewards among members of a group.
• Conflict Management is the ability to work through tense or highly charged situations by tactfully bringing disagreements into the open, seeking to understand multiple perspectives, and searching for common ground in order to find solutions people can agree to.

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Where does our drive to achieve come from?

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In Daniel Goleman’s framework of Emotional Intelligence, achievement orientation is the drive to succeed at our goals. One of four self-management competencies, it refers to the ability to set meaningful and important milestones for ourselves— to take risks, embrace challenges and stay consistent in our efforts to do what is important to us. 

When we are competent in achievement orientation, we:

• Set measurable but challenging goals for ourselves and those we lead;
• Draw from our values and our sense of purpose in order to do the things that matter to us;
• Persevere in the face of discomfort;
• Have faith, hope, and confidence in our ability to make things happen;
• Commit to meeting and overcoming challenges;
• Continually seek feedback in order to improve.

Achievement orientation isn’t just about getting things done for the sake of getting things done— it’s about cultivating clarity, determination, and resilience in order to meet our larger objectives. 

Positive outlook

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Positive outlook: optimism is a choice.

How many times has a “setback” led to a positive opportunity?

This ability—to see the good in an inherently challenging situation—is the Emotional Intelligence competence called Positive Outlook. A positive Outlook refers to our ability to see the best in people, situations, and events. When people have a positive outlook they:

●      See the “glass half full”

●      Cultivate positive emotions in challenging moments

●      Pursue their goals no matter what life throws their way

●      Focus on what’s working

●      See the best in themselves and others

●      Leverage strengths in order to solve problems and create productive outcomes

On a personal level, the more positive emotions we experience, the better our health and wellbeing.

Universe of emotions

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Understanding why you feel what you feel is one of the most important aspects of human development. After understanding comes control. When you control your emotions through vertical development, you can be more successful and happy.

“An inability to control emotions prevents us from growing up and becoming mature successful human beings”, says Dr. Alan Watkins, founder of Complete Coherence.

By taking on a journey around the universe, Dr. Watkins explains how we can choose our own emotional ‘planetary’ address and live happier and more fulfilled lives.

The Universe of Emotions App helps to increase Emotional Intelligence (EQ). The app contains a ‘universe’ of more than 2,000 emotions. The user can note their own emotional state, explore similar emotions and share their experience with friends.

You can also track your own emotional ‘journey’ in charts and graphs, and take steps to improve your emotional state.

Emotions are at the heart of our well-being, health, and performance. Emotional Intelligence is increasingly seen as a desired state in business and beyond. To date, there has been a lack of practical guidance on exactly how to build EQ – this app changes that.